What would you rate Oregon's weather? (Portland: live, budget, activities)

[callmemaybe]

I actually think weather in Portland/the Willamette Valley is pretty ideal. Not too hot in summer, not too cold in winter, though I wish we had a little bit more snow. I guess 3/4 of Oregon gets a lot of snow in the winter time though.

[5thgenSF]

i think it sucks! too cold in the winter. too wet all year. too hot in the summer. very rarely a happy medium. we got two good months of nice weather in april and may and then it went to crap again. but we've had more good weather this year than all my seven years here put together!

[Daisy32673]

Yeah Im over it. The fact that there is still snow in the passes and its still cold and rainy is getting old. I am so ready for just a 70* day or even a partly sunny day.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Daisy32673

Yeah Im over it. The fact that there is still snow in the passes and its still cold and rainy is getting old. I am so ready for just a 70* day or even a partly sunny day.

So what, did you sleep through them?

The highest temperature (in Portland, since that's where you claim to be) for the month of April was 82. In May, it was 88. In June (so far) it's been 76.

Sorry to cloud the issue with facts.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Daisy32673

Yeah Im over it. The fact that there is still snow in the passes and its still cold and rainy is getting old. I am so ready for just a 70* day or even a partly sunny day.

Yeah, this is the time of the year when immigrants start whining, "Does it ever quit raining?" Pretty soon it will go from 50 degrees to 90 degrees in one weekend, and everyone will die until they get accustomed to the heat.

[Daisy32673]

I am pretty familiar with Portlands weather. With the exception of a few months a year (in recent years) Ive been here since 1980. I would prefer a more consistant pattern of nice weather instead of the spotty days here and there of beautiful days followed by two months of really nice weather. Just a preference, not arguing with you about any "facts" but thanks for taking the trouble to look them up. Clearly you feel differently about the weather and that is your opinion on it which is fine

[Curmudgeon]

Moderator cut: personal

The PNW, including far northern CA, are beautiful. The down side is it takes a lot of rain and some cold to stay that way. Decidedly a trade-off.

[FVWinters]

Another one of those where personal opinion weighs very heavily. I live west of the Cascades and in my opinion, winter and early spring is generally bloody awful. I haven't seen what I would consider a decent spring since 2004, although this last winter and the one preceeding it were better than I have come to expect.


Summers are generally fine, even the occasional heat wave is tolerable because however hot it gets and however unaccustomed to it I am when it arrives, at least the humdity is low enough I can work outdoors if I don't overdo it.


Early fall is , while late fall is more like . I can be pretty creative when disrespecting our infamous winter climate, but there are worse, believe it or not (try the Alaskan Panhandle or Winnipeg) and I am content to remain here for many reasons which have nothing to do with climate.

[Larry Caldwell]

I have never understood people who gripe about Oregon weather, which I think is just about perfect.

There are only a couple common weather conditions that limit my outdoor activities. The most common is mid-winter when it is 33 degrees and raining. It's hard to stay dry, and standing in ice water all day makes it impossible to stay warm. The other really bad weather is also in the winter, with below freezing temperatures and a 20+ mph wind. You don't see that anywhere on the west side of the Cascades except at the mouth of the Gorge, but it's fairly common on the east side. I also hate working outside any time the temperature climbs above 90 degrees, but I learned long ago how to make my own electrolyte solution, and have sweated out over 2 gallons a day from time to time. 1996 was particularly ugly, with 25 days over 100 degrees.

The rest of the time, the weather is practically ideal. Heavy rain is almost always warm, in the 50s just like the Pacific Ocean. A good set of rain gear is all you need - no rubber suits. Most days the rain is intermittent, and not particularly heavy. A light waterproof jacket and hat are all I need to be comfortable and dry outside. I do have a big Camp-Dry budget.

And that's the worst of it. Go outside this morning. It was 44 degrees at dawn, with a beautiful blue sky and the high temperature forecast in the mid-70s. That's as close to heaven as it gets on this earth.

[Dual Citizen CA-OR]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

I have never understood people who gripe about Oregon weather, which I think is just about perfect.

There are only a couple common weather conditions that limit my outdoor activities. The most common is mid-winter when it is 33 degrees and raining. It's hard to stay dry, and standing in ice water all day makes it impossible to stay warm. The other really bad weather is also in the winter, with below freezing temperatures and a 20+ mph wind. You don't see that anywhere on the west side of the Cascades except at the mouth of the Gorge, but it's fairly common on the east side. I also hate working outside any time the temperature climbs above 90 degrees, but I learned long ago how to make my own electrolyte solution, and have sweated out over 2 gallons a day from time to time. 1996 was particularly ugly, with 25 days over 100 degrees.

The rest of the time, the weather is practically ideal. Heavy rain is almost always warm, in the 50s just like the Pacific Ocean. A good set of rain gear is all you need - no rubber suits. Most days the rain is intermittent, and not particularly heavy. A light waterproof jacket and hat are all I need to be comfortable and dry outside. I do have a big Camp-Dry budget.

And that's the worst of it. Go outside this morning. It was 44 degrees at dawn, with a beautiful blue sky and the high temperature forecast in the mid-70s. That's as close to heaven as it gets on this earth.

I don’t understand people who complain about comments on the crappy weather here.

You said it yourself, it was a beautiful blue sky this morning. While I understand that a cloud deck can be beautiful too, it starts losing its luster after 8 to 9 months.